IOC President Bach Wants To Use YOG As Test Model For Future Olympic Bidding Process

IOC President Thomas Bach said that the IOC "wants to use the current Youth Olympic Games as a test model for a more sustainable approach to future Games' bidding processes and operations," according to Sun Xiaochen of the CHINA DAILY. Given the scale and cost of major sporting events, hosting the Olympics "has been an appealing yet challenging task for many developing countries, which has hampered the spread of the Olympic spirit." The IOC "has been considering reforms to the Games' bidding procedure and more flexibility in sports programs and in the scale of events." Bach said that the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing "provide a valuable test site." Bach said, "We are considering the question of sustainability very seriously on our agenda for 2020. You can already see some results and some changes we have made in this respect" (CHINA DAILY, 8/19).